Finding new drugs

• why do we need to develop new drugs?

  • evolution of pathogens might make them resistant meaning a new treatment is needed
  • still existing diseases we can't treat yet
  • some people with allergies can't take existing drugs
• what was the first drug discovered?

  penicillin
• how can computer modelling help with the development of new medicinal drugs?

  • used to search through libraries of chemicals, to isolate any with a potentially useful action against a specific group of a pathogen, or against the mutated cells in cancer
• how has sequencing the genomes of pathogens helped in the development of new medical drugs?

  • analysis of genomes of pathogens and genes which have been linked to cancer enable scientists to target their novel drugs to attack any vulnerabilities
• what is aspirin?

  • based on compounds from willow bark
  • painkiller, anti-coagulant, anti-pyretic (reduces fever) and anti-inflammatory
• why is it important to maintain biodiversity to medical drugs?

  • new plant species which are currently undiscovered may provide a new drug/chemical
• what is meant by pharmacogenomics?

  • the science of interweaving knowledge of drug action with personal genetic material
• how has synthetic biology helped with development of medical drugs?

  • enables use of bacteria as biological factories
  • re-engineering
  • develop populations of bacteria
  • nano-technology
• what is immunotherapy?

  type of cancer treatment that helps the immune system fight cancer e.g. T-cell transfer theraphy